UVM ski team has three sets of siblings

Mar. 8, 2011

The University of Vermont has three sets of siblings on its ski team. Pictured from left: Nordic skiers Caitlin and Scott Patterson of Anchorage, Alaska; Alpine skiers Meg and Kate Ryley of Toronto, and Tim and Robby Kelley of Starksboro. / DARIA BISHOP, for USA Today

Written by

Andy Gardiner, USA Today

The University of Vermont skiing team has taken the con­cept of sibling rivalries to a new level this season, and it might just bring the Catamounts their first NCAA championship in 17 years.

Vermont, which hosts this week’s four-day competition in Stowe, won the last of its five national titles in 1994. Since then only one Eastern school (Dart­mouth in 2007) has been able to break the West’s stranglehold on the crown.

But Vermont captured the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Asso­ciation crown last month for the first time since 2005 and holds the No. 1 spot in Ski Racing mag­azine’s power rankings. Much of that success can be traced to the performances of three sets of siblings:.

◾ Junior Nordic skier Caitlin Patterson has been joined by brother Scott, a freshman, this season. Together, they have won 10 races.

◾ Robby and Tim Kelley, sons of former Olympian Lindy Cochran, have won three Alpine races this year and had 12 other top-10 finishes.

◾ Kate and Meg Ryley, for­mer Canadian national team members, have won seven Al­pine races and had seven other top 10 performances.

“This is pretty unique, and it has created a really cool, really healthy dynamic,” said Bill Rei­chelt, UVM’s director of skiing and head Alpine coach. “You couldn’t ask for a better situa­tion. They are competitive but supportive and raise the level of training for the entire program.”

The Pattersons are from An­chorage and were drawn to Ver­mont by its engineering pro­gram, the lower altitude compared to many Western pro­grams, and the relatively tight geographic circle of the Eastern carnival circuit.

“I thought it would be a good fit and it has been,” said Caitlin, an All-American last season who won the NCAA Elite 88 award for athletic and academic excellence. “And it’s great to be able to train with Scott again.”

Vermont qualified the maxi­mum 12 competitors for the NCAA championships for the first time since 1999. Competi­tion was so stiff that Robby Kel­ley did not make the top three in men’s Alpine. That leaves Tim, a former U.S. national team member, to carry the family banner this week.

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“Having someone out there on the hill who thinks and skis like you has been a big help to me,” Tim said of Robby’s influence. “We haven’t had the chance to ski together for a long time, and he has really pushed me.”

Meg Ryley, a junior, earned All-America honors last season but has battled injuries this year. Sister Kate, a freshman, has stepped in and joined Lyn­dee Janowiak to give the Catamounts three top per­formers.

“Meg loved it so much here, and it has become a great place for me,” Kate said of UVM. “I’m enjoying the sport in a whole differ­ent way (than skiing for the Canadian national team), and when Meg is racing fast it pushes me to match that.”

Vermont also has a de­fending NCAA champion in Franz Bernstein, who won last year’s 20-kilometer freestyle Nordic race, and Alpiner Jonathan Nordbot­ten, the Eastern rookie of the year. UVM has balance and depth (13 UVM skiers won races this season) and the Catamounts will be on their home hill.

“The vibe has been really good all season, and there has been a great sense of mutual respect between the Nordic and Alpine teams,” Reichelt said. “I’m excited to see what we can do.”